Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a crisis
    • ex. Many people lost their jobs during the economic crisis of 2008.
  2. a porch
    • ex. My grandmother loves to sit on her porch every evening and watch the sunset.
  3. spot
    • ex. My son was hiding, but I spotted him behind the chair right away.
  4. dress up
    • ex. I always dress up my dogs for Halloween. Last year, my dachshund was a hot dog!
  5. distract
    • ex. Mike was trying to write a report, but the loud noises outside distracted him.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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To entertain children during the coronavirus crisis, one neighborhood in Washington started a fun community activity. People put teddy bears in their windows or on their porches. Children take a walk with their parents around the neighborhood and try to spot all the teddy bears.

The activity was inspired by an old children’s book called “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.” Some people are very creative with their teddy bear displays. They dress up the teddy bears and arrange them into different scenes, such as cleaning the yard or having a picnic. One person in the neighborhood even made a map that shows all the different locations of the bears.

Many parents are very happy about this new community activity. They say that it helps distract children who can’t play with their friends, and it’s also helping neighbors build better relationships with each other. Many children also say that they enjoy the activity a lot. One boy even spent over an hour looking for teddy bears around his neighborhood with his brother.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Staying Home

  • What should children do while they stay home during this crisis (ex. study, play video games)? Why? Discuss.
  • To prepare to stay home for a long time, what should people do (ex. buy a lot of food, clean their home)? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think the rules for staying home are strong enough in your area? Why or why not? Discuss.

Community Activities

  • Do you think people in your country would like to have teddy bear hunts like this? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Is it important for neighbors to have a good relationship with each other? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What's the best way to tell people about community activities (ex. social media, signs in the neighborhood)? Why? Discuss.